November 16, 2015: Version control, writers, and worfklows

Presentation description

In a highly interactive discussion, we’ll go over the basics of using version control systems to help support documentation of software products. We’ll share ideas and swap war stories about how to set up workspaces and workflows, conduct reviews, deal with product versions, and interact with developers. We’ll look at how (or whether) using these systems affects our decisions about chunking, modularity, and reuse. Spoiler alert: version control systems are not component content management systems.

About the presenter

Richard Mateosian is a freelance technical writer who for twenty years has specialized in documentation for developers. Before that, he obtained a PhD in mathematics, spent 15 years as a programmer, wrote two computer books, and spent a decade as a technical and strategic marketer in the semiconductor industry. He is a Fellow of STC, a former chapter president, and one of the leaders of the Touchstone technical communication competition. He is a charter member of the IEEE Computer Society’s Golden Core and has been the Review Editor of IEEE Micro for nearly 30 years.

Recently Richard has worked on documentation projects ranging from a website generated from Markdown files maintained in Git to a website generated from DITA files maintained in Perforce.

Pages

STC’s Mission

STC advances the theory and practice of technical communication across all user abilities and media so that both businesses and customers benefit from safe, appropriate, and effective use of products, information, and services.